17 Jul Upbeat or Beat Up? How to Stay Positive in a Negative World (Part 2)
Between Iran, the national debt and rising gas prices, there is plenty to worry about if I let it…I just don’t let it! More than a few times as I have pumped expensive gas, I will do so while I am quoting Philippians 4:19, “My God shall supply all of my needs according to His riches in glory.”
I have found that complainers are not obtainers! Excusers are losers! Moaners are loaners! Whiners are not winners! Gripers get the vipers and pitiful is not powerful! Simply hating your present does not qualify you for a better tomorrow. No more than simply hating Egypt qualified the children of Israel for Canaan land!
So let’s have a check up from the neck up. Let’s eradicate “stinkin’ thinkin’”! Let’s be up beat, not beat up! Let’s stay positive in a negative world.
Last week we began discussing “Two Wonders of Worry”:
- Worry is trying to figure out tomorrow, today (Matt. 6:34).
This week, let’s continue our series…
- Meditation is worry in reverse (Heb. 4:11, Joshua 1:8).
The Bible tells us, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success” (Joshua 1:8).
The word meditation has acquired a bad reputation. To the western mind it implies some sort of Eastern meditation. The Hebrew word for meditation means “to ponder over and over again, or to mutter to oneself.” According to the above verses, this should be done with the Word of God! So to all of you champion worriers out there, I have good news…you already know how to meditate! We just need to change what you are meditating on!
The Bible tells us, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (II Cor. 10:3-5).
In many Christian circles, when you hear the word “stronghold” it is almost always referred to with the demonic. However, scripture is always defined by context and the context of these verses is clearly connected to our way of thinking. A stronghold is a way of thinking…it is a mindset. Certainly demon spirits can contribute to a negative way of thinking through suggestion, but they have no actual authority over us unless we give it to them (Eph. 4:27, Col. 1:13).
Biblically, a stronghold is a mindset that causes you to react predictably given a certain set of circumstances. It is a way of thinking that will dictate your behavior. When Anne and I and Johnathan go on vacation, we love to rent bikes. There is a certain bike path that has a small portion of sidewalk with a groove running right down the center. This little groove is about an inch deep and just about the perfect fit for a tire. If you happen to get your tire caught in this groove you are destined to stay in it for the entire length of the groove and it will predictably alter your course and spit you out at the same place on the side walk.
This is exactly how a stronghold works anytime you are presented with a certain set of circumstances, your stronghold (way of thinking) will kick in, alter your course and spit you out in the same place. For example:
- “I don’t understand it, Pastor Jim, every time my wife does this certain thing I always fly off the handle. I don’t want to do this, it just seems like something always sets me off.”
- “Pastor Jim, I don’t understand it, I have quit smoking 18 different times but every time I am faced with a certain set of circumstances, I always find myself going back to cigarettes.”
- “Pastor Jim, I was molested when I was a young girl and now I am married to a wonderful Christian man. Every time we are about to be intimate, I feel dirty all over again. It’s truly hurting our marriage.”
- “Pastor Jim, I’m single and God has brought three or four great Christian guys over the years. However it seems I always drive them off. They treat me so well but it seems I’m always more attracted to ‘bad boys’.”
I could go on and on, but I’m sure you get the point! Now I have good news for you…the same way that strongholds are built up is the same way they can be torn down and reconstructed! You see, strongholds, because they are a way of thinking, can be both negative and positive! Most of us imagine on the negative side. You easily see yourself in a car wreck. You easily see yourself dying early. You easily see yourself sick. You easily see yourself failing. You can’t stop those thoughts from coming, but you sure can stop them from staying! It is not your thought until you entertain it!
As we discussed in II Corinthians 10:5, you must take the thought captive one thought at a time. The key is stopping that “snowball” from rolling down the hill before it gains momentum. The key is punching that camel in the nose before it comes all the way into your tent! In other words, once that thought begins to build momentum, it will affect your emotions and in turn, affect your actions and at that point, it is usually out of control!
Therefore, we must put the Word of God in when we don’t need it so it comes out when we do! If you will study Mark 4:1-32 you will find the Word of God compared to a seed, and if you will put that seed in your heart and hold onto it long enough, it will grow up and become change in your life!
Before I was born again, I had a horrible temper! My brother once told my mother that one day I would kill someone (he thought it was going to be him). I would literally get so angry that I wouldn’t fully remember what I did during fits of anger. When I was at Ohio University for my first year of college, I was playing “broom ball”. Broom ball was simply hockey on tennis shoes instead of ice skates. You would also use a broom with the bristles cut off instead of a hockey stick. One day while playing this sport, one of my opponents took a swing at my buddy with his broom unbeknownst to my friend. I saw it however, and I became enraged. I chased that guy down the ice and finally caught up with him. I initiated a fight. If you have never fought on the ice before, it is very difficult in tennis shoes! I was in a clench with him and bit him on his back. In fright, he screamed out “He bit me!” (It’s a good thing I had my rabies shot!)
I share all of this with you not to glorify my past, but to show you the depth of the anger problem I was dealing with when I first got saved. When I gave my life to Jesus I did not initially become Billy Graham (I’m still not there), so I had to put the Word of God in me like these and more:
James 1:19 “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath”;
I Corinthians 13:4-5 “Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinking no evil”;
Proverbs 16:32 “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.”
I would read and meditate and speak those promises over and over and over. After a period of a number of months, I began to wear new strongholds in my mind. Now, given the same set of circumstances, I respond according to the Word of God and not with anger. To this day I still quote the scriptures on a daily basis to maintain what I’ve gained. It has now been about 19 years since I have lost my temper!
Next week we will continue our series on “Up Beat or Beat Up?